Under the Lights
by sailorpynes
Summary: Annabeth Chase is getting ready to start her journey into adulthood. Percy Jackson is getting ready to start his journey from stardom to being normal. Together, they face the many adversities that life throws them. An AU.


**Author's Note:**

 _So this was a story I've actually had in mind for a while, but I finally got around to writing the first chapter of it. It's really just going to be a long shitfic, so please do not expect a lot from it. However, I enjoy the whole process of writing and getting ideas out there, so I figured that this would be a great way to do it and get some feedback on it. This story is entirely fictional (duh) but it also is just in a fictional universe that will have mentions of real life things but in relation to proper time frames, it probably is a little bit lacking in those areas. However, I do hope you enjoy the long shitfic this will be (apologies if at any point this story because utter shit, and also apologies for my cursing. I try to not as much, however it gives me great enjoyment as seems to alleviate any stress or anger I have). Well, enjoy!_

* * *

I had witnessed a numerous amount of beautiful things in my life. When I was four, I was the flower girl in my father's wedding, which was a beautiful wedding despite it being to a woman who turned into a bitch. Then when I was ten I got to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains and even though we froze our asses off, I had a great time with my father and the best part of it was my step-mother stayed in the hotel lodge with my little brothers. Then when I was sixteen I heard my first Silena Beauregard song. Her voice was sweeter than honey but as smooth and rich as chocolate. And she was drop dead gorgeous. Nevertheless, I became an avid Silena fan, and the final and easily one of the most beautiful things I saw was Silena Beauregard live in Madison Square Garden when I was eighteen.

With that said, I found myself running along one of the hundreds of beaches in California, four years since Silena's concert which I now refer to as the Miracle. The sun was setting over the water and I was tempted for a minute to stop and watch the sun kiss the water and then set to rise somewhere on the other side of the world. I'm sure that this sunset would never be able to beat the Miracle, since the Miracle is something pretty hard to beat.

I pushed myself forward and made it back to my apartment complex in record time (not actually record time, I was about a minute slower than the previous day but that damn sunset slowed me down). I opened the front door and ran up the steps, taking them two at a time, until I got to the third floor. The door to the apartment was wide open and I rolled my eyes as I thought about what on earth Reyna was doing that made her forget to close the door.

I ripped out my earbuds and shoved them into the waistband of my shorts and walk in. Reyna was nowhere to be seen, but there was evidence that she had been all over the apartment. Empty coffee containers were lying around and on the coffee table was an abundance of text books and crumpled up pieces of notebook papers litter the floor.

"Hey, Rey?" I yelled as I gathered some of the coffee containers and threw them in the trash. "You left the front door open."

There's a muffled yell from Reyna's room, and seconds later the door was thrown open. She looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks and there were coffee stains all over her shirt.

"Sorry," she croaked. "I just had a massive breakthrough on this project I have to finish for Dr. C. It's _incredible_ , really." Reyna glanced at me and titled her head. "I'd explain it to you, but I don't know how well medical terms will translate to your architect ones."

"You're fine," I said. "I was just worried you were killed by some crazy man, and then I was like shit this apartment will be a whole lot harder to resell if someone was murdered."

Reyna laughed and crossed her arms. "Come on, you'd be _devastated_ if I was killed."

"I might be," I said. "But I also might not be."

Reyna shoved me and I feigned being hurt.

Despite only meeting Reyna a little under a month ago, I felt as if we've known each other our whole lives. She's like the sister I never had, and she absolutely despises her sister, so I'm like the sister she had always wanted. We moved into the apartment in the last week of May, at that point neither of us knew the other. I just knew that from strenuous stalking that Reyna enjoyed working out, quiet times to work on her school stuff, and that she was hopelessly addicted to jelly beans. When we met in person, we immediately clicked. We were both planning to attend Olympus University in the fall for grad school, and both adored Silena Beauregard (I might be a little more obsessed than her, but she doesn't have to find that out). Anyway, now, about month later, I cannot imagine life without Reyna. We always talk to each other, and the friendship is so effortless.

"I promise I would be absolutely and completely _devastated_ if you died," I said. "I mean, I could never, ever in a million years or a million lifetimes find someone as cool and as smart and as funny as Reyna Arellano."

"True," Reyna said. "I am pretty great."

I laughed and nodded my head. "You said you had a major breakthrough on your project?"

Even though school didn't start for a couple more months, Reyna had a summer work study with the head of the medical department, Dr. Chiron. Each year, he accepted one student to work with him for the summer before the first term, and the students he selected often went on to doing amazing things with their medical knowledge. Reyna was this year's lucky winner, and I was unbelievably impressed with her knowledge and dedication to the subject.

Reyna nodded and twiddled her thumbs. "It's a new antibiotic that can help to fight off mrsa, you know, that infection I told you last night at dinner?"

I made a face and nodded. "Of course, I couldn't eat the tofu. It made me think of that nasty pus—"

"I'm sorry, that was poor planning on my part," Reyna said. "I just thought you'd want to know the side effects of it, because if not treated correctly, it could possibly kill you. And while you may not really miss me if I die, I would be absolutely upset and not have a reason to live if you died, especially if it was something I could prevent."

"Reyna, I _promise_ I would be upset and everything if you died," I said. "I was _joking_ , and I realize now that it was a dumb thing to joke about. I'm sorry that I upset you."

"Thank you for your apology, I forgive you," Reyna said. "How was your run?"

"It was great," I said. "I saw a great sunset while I was running, which slowed me down a full minute. Damn sunset, I had almost broken yesterday's time."

"The sun's already set?" Reyna looked alarmed. "What time is it?"

"It's like, eight o'clock," I said. "How long were you working on that project?"

"It felt like five minutes, but I guess it must have been a couple hours," Reyna said. "I was working at the coffee shop when it hit me at the end of my shift, so I got some coffees and clocked out and rushed home."

"You got off work at like, three."

"Yeah, so I guess it's been like, five hours. Well, shit."

I laughed and shook my head. "You're crazy. Five hours with the door just wide open. That's plenty of time for a psychopath to just come in and murder you or something."

"Ugh, tell me about it," Reyna said. "This reminds me, would you be able to cover my shift tomorrow? I _have_ to work on this project so I can present it to Dr. C on Saturday."

"Of course," I said. "Eight o'clock to three, right?"

Reyna nodded and retreated back to her room after heating up a couple vegan hot pockets. I cleaned up the rest of the kitchen but left her notes where they were. Reyna and I both agreed early on that we would not touch one another's studies lest we mess up the other's system. For example, Reyna keeps all of her stuff scattered around places. Once, I found a whole essay on how to improve the flu vaccination in the fridge, and as much as I don't want to have paper by my sushi, I left them there and sure enough, when Reyna had to go out to give Dr. C her essay she opened the fridge and got them as if she was taking a drinkable yogurt to go. My system is that I keep everything somewhere that reminds me of that thing, most times my room on my desk. However, I organize it all based on different eras. I haven't done anything as crazy as keeping papers in the fridge, however, once school actually starts and it's not just fun searching I'm sure I will go a little insane.

Once I finished cleaning the kitchen, I took a quick shower and then settled myself on my bed with my laptop. I watched a few Netflix shows before switching to video chatting with my dad, who was busy making dinner for the step-monster and my brothers. As I watched him make the meat for the tacos, I realized how much I missed home, and I quickly made an excuse to end the chat before he saw my cry.

XxXxX

I leaned on the counter of the coffee shop while I flipped through the local newspaper. The shop was dead empty, and the other employee who was on with me was just chilling in the back. I figured he was probably sleeping, since that was basically all he did whenever he worked. I began to take count of everything we had in stock and wrote down order slips for things we would need more of. As I wrote, the front door opened and I grumbled under my breath as I stopped writing. I took a deep breath before I put on my best barista face and turned around.

To say that the guy who walked in was handsome is an underestimate. He was tall, muscular, tan, and had dark hair. He donned a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses and an unbuttoned flannel. His under shirt read 'ASK MORE QUESTIONS PLEASE' and he wore a leather necklace with what looked like a wing pendant on it.

"Good morning," he said. His voice was low, a little raspy, and very pleasant. "How are you today?"

"Doing well, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm doing well," he said. He glanced out the window as if he expected to see someone there. "May I please have five espressos to-go?"

"Sure, is that all?" I asked. "We have a great assortment of bakery goods here." I gestured towards the glass display and he smiled.

"No, not today. I'm trying to cut back on the baked goods," he said. "Thank you though."

"You don't know what you're missing," I said.

"I believe it," he said. "I'll just have to come back some time to get a taste."

I nodded and told him his total. He paid in cash and then watched me get the espressos ready. Each time I glanced over at him, I got the feeling that I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put my finger on where. He drummed his fingers on the counter and glanced around the coffee shop. I wasn't sure if it was out of genuine interest or if it was something to do, but I enjoyed watching him quite a lot.

"Thank you, I can hold the one drink," he said as he watched me place some of them into the to-go carton.

"You sure?" I asked.

"I got it, thanks," he said.

He slid a folded bill across the counter and grabbed the carton and one lone drink like a professional. He lifted his cup in in farewell before disappearing into the California street.

XxXxX

Later that night, I laid on the couch with Reyna while watching an episode of _Friends_ and eating out of Chinese take-out containers. It was an unofficial tradition that we did whenever one of us (usually me) had a long, boring day at work and the other (usually Reyna) had a crazy day at the house doing a bunch of school work. Since all I had at the moment was my job at the coffee shop, I often covered Reyna's shift when she was unable to work due to something she had to do for Dr. C.

" _Friends_ just never gets old," Reyna said.

"Preach it, woman," I said. "The best part is it stays funny throughout its entire ten season lifespan. Some shows sort of got boring near the end and just needed to stop."

Reyna nodded and set her Chinese food down. "Thank you so much for taking my shift today," she said. "It really meant a lot."

"You're welcome," I said. "I enjoy working at the shop. No one ever really seems to come in."

"Because it's not a brand," Reyna said. "If it were like, Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, we'd get hit. But it's not. It's just the Café House. Only locals and college kids ever go there."

"Truth," I said. "Do you need me to cover your shift tomorrow as well?"

"That'd actually be great," Reyna said. "I'd love you forever if you did."

"I'm glad I'll forever have your love then," I said.

Reyna blew a kiss to me before picking up her container and finishing the rest of her food. Once she was done, she waved goodnight and headed off to bed. I sat alone in the living room for a bit before shutting off the TV and heading to bed myself.

XxXxX

The next morning at the coffee shop, I was mopping the floors while my coworker was once again sleeping in the back room. No one was in the shop so I blasted some Silena Beauregard music. It was so loud, I didn't hear the door open and I was dancing with the mop and singing into the top of the wooden handle as if it were a microphone.

"You're a great dancer."

I whirled around too fast and slipped on the floor. I landed on my butt and tried to not show the pain on my face. The guy from yesterday leaned over the counter with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you had heard me come in."

"Oh, no. Don't worry about it," I said, picking myself up from the floor.

"Was that Silena Beauregard playing?" He asked.

"You won't make fun of me if I say yes, right?" I asked.

"Only if you don't want me to," he said. He held out a hand. "My name's Percy. I didn't get to introduce myself yesterday."  
"Annabeth." I shook his hand and was surprised at how soft they were.

"This may seem out of line, since we haven't ever fully met before," he said. "But can I have your number?"

I stared at him and he raised his eyebrows. It hit me then that he wasn't wearing sunglasses, and that I was staring into the most gorgeous eyes ever. They were green with flecks of grey and blue, and there was a thin trace of gold.

"You're not like, a psycho or anything right?" I asked.

He laughed and shook his head. "I like to think I'm not, but that's up the person who I'm talking to." He tilted his head at me. "What's your judgement call?"

"You're not at the moment," I said. "Ask me again when I know you better."

"Fair enough."  
He pulled a pen out of his pocket and handed it to me. I grabbed a napkin and jotted down my number. He smiled in appreciation and slid a folded bill across the counter.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"It's for the five espressos I'm about to order," he said.

XxXxX

The second I walked through the door, my phone beeped. I balanced some of the groceries I had bought on the way home in my one arm and kicked the door shut as I fumbled around for my phone. Once I found it, I placed the groceries on the counter and frowned at the unknown number.

"Rey, I'm home!" I yelled as I unlocked it.

There was a muffled yell and seconds later Reyna's bedroom door was whipped open. "You'll never _believe_ —what are you looking at?" In a flash, Reyna was beside me.

I stared at my phone, which had the text from Percy on it. My hands shook as I handed it over to Reyna, who yelled in delight.

"Stop, you are _joking_ ," Reyna said. "When did this happen?"

"He came in yesterday, and today he asked for my number," I said.

Reyna squealed with delight and jumped up and down happily. "What are you going to say? Yes?"

"I mean—it'd be a lot of fun," I said. "But I promised you I'd hang out tonight."  
"Oh, please," Reyna said. "We hang out every night. This is possibly the only time you will ever get this chance."

"True," I said slowly. Reyna nodded earnestly and I sighed. "We'll hang out tomorrow night, okay?"

Reyna smiled and hugged me. "Get a picture for me, won't you?"

I nodded and hugged Reyna back. As I did, I texted the word 'yes' back to Percy.

XxXxX

Percy met me outside the stadium. He donned skinny jeans, Chuck Taylors, and a white T-shirt that read YOU'RE THE GOAT. His Ray Bans were on top of his head and he smiled at me.

"I have your pass," he said. "Are you ready for the time of your life?"

"Thank you so much for inviting me," I said. "How did you manage to do it?"

"I know people." He shrugged and held open the door. "Plus, it helps when you're me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You honestly have no clue?" He asked.

"Absolutely none."

He stared at me, as if looking for some trace of a joke, but when he found none he shrugged and led me through a bunch of hallways. "You'll find out soon enough."

As we walked, I was surprised at how easy Percy was to talk to. I found out he had grown up in New York City, but never really knew his dad for a bit. His mother married a really shitty guy, but he ended up dying so she got remarried to one of his teachers. He had thought it would be weirder than it really was, but it turned out to be normal. And then his dad visited them one day with another kid about his age, who turned out to be his half-brother. Afterwards, his dad moved a couple of buildings down with his half-brother, and now he's really close with his whole family.

"So that's me," he said. "What's your life like? If, that is, you're comfortable sharing it with someone you just met."

"I guess," I said. "I have nothing really interesting about myself. I grew up in Virginia. My mom died when I was two, my dad got remarried when I was five. My step-mom is a bitch, and I have two younger half-brothers. I attended Philadelphia University and majored in architecture, and now I'm going into grad school."

"So you're pretty smart then," Percy said. "You strike me as someone who's smart."

"I won't lie, I am pretty smart," I said. "As conceited as that sounds, I won't play dumb just to get people to like me or to get some guy. I find that act quite pitiable."

"I feel the same way," Percy said.

We turned one last corner and he raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you ready to meet Silena Beauregard?"

I glanced at the door he stood in front of and wiped some of the sweat off the palm of my hands. On the front of the door, on a perfect little star, was Silena Beauregard's name. Behind the door came muffled sounds, and I nodded once. Percy knocked on the door and seconds later it was whipped open.

"Percy!" A guy who was a little taller than Percy greet us. He had blond hair that was gelled up and bright blue eyes. He donned a purple shirt with a black windbreaker and he had on a thick pair of glasses. "Glad you could make it. You almost gave us a heartache when you just left."

"Sorry, Jason," Percy said. "I had to make sure Annabeth got here safely."

"Who?" Jason just seemed to process that someone else was there, and he immediately straightened his glasses and fixed his jacket. "Hi, I'm Jason Grace. It's nice to meet you." He extended out his hand.

"I'm Annabeth Chase," I said. "Pleasant to meet you too."

Jason furrowed his brow in confusion for a second before turning to Percy. "Does she not know?"

Percy shook his head and an impressed look went across Jason's face. "Welcome to the party."

He stepped back and allowed us into a large dressing room. Three other guys were lounging around with a beer bottle in all of their hands. They all glanced over at us and quickly stood.

"Hello," one said. He looked Latino and had long, curly hair. His eyes had a mischievous glint in them. "I'm Leo."

"I'm Annabeth."

"I'm Frank." The one named Frank looked of Chinese descent. He was easily the tallest on there and the most muscular. Just looking at him made me feel intimidated.

"I'm Nico." The last one was a little shorter than me, and he had dark hair that was shaved on one side. His skin was paler and he wore only black. "It's nice to meet you. Would you like a beer?"

"Sure," I said.

Frank handed me a popped beer and Percy collapsed on the couch. "Where did Silena go?" He asked. "I thought I told her to stay here."

"Silena had to go to makeup," Leo said. "But she'll be back soon."

I stared in silence at the group of guys, wondering where on earth I had seen them before. I sipped my beer quietly and thought about it when suddenly it hit me.

"Oh my god," I said.

Percy lifted his eyebrows at me. "What?"

"You're the Demigods," I said. "Oh shit, oh shit, _oh shit_!"

I sat down in a chair and Jason laughed. "Yeah, we're that super famous band. No big deal."

" _How_ did I not put that together?" I said.

"It's fine," Percy said. "I'm sort of glad you didn't, it was nice just being treated normally."

"Oh shit," I said again. "You probably think I'm so stupid now."

"No, I don't," Percy said. "If you don't listen to our music, you wouldn't really know who we are."

"Or if you lived in a cave," Leo said. "I mean, it's not like we haven't been on _Ellen_ or _Good Morning America_ or _The Tonight Show_ or done any more major television appearances."

"C'mon, Leo," Percy said.

"Of course, that's how you had backstage passes to the Silena Beauregard concert tonight," I said.

"Yeah, I also get to perform a song tonight," Percy said. "It's supposed to be a surprise for the fans."

"I? Don't you mean, we?" Leo asked.

Percy rolled his eyes and took a long sip from his beer. "Of course, Leo."

"I'm sorry for not realizing that sooner," I said. "I feel incredibly stupid now."

"Don't," Percy said sharply. "I didn't want you to treat me differently. Plus, I really like you and I don't want you to feel stupid because you're not."

"Thanks," I said.

The door opened and I glanced over and felt my jaw drop. Silena Beauregard, in all of her perfection, stood in front of me. Her hair was curled perfectly and her makeup looked as if God himself applied it.

"Be ready to go on then when I start thanking the fans," she said. "Usually about half way through."

"Of course," Frank said. "Your crew always gets us where we're supposed to be."

Silena smiled. "They're the best." She glanced over at me and held out a hand. "I'm Silena, you must be Percy's date."

"Oh, is this a date?" I asked, glancing at Percy. He held his hands up in surrender and I shook Silena's hand. "I'm Annabeth. And can I just say, I _love_ your music. When I was eighteen, I got to go to one of your concerts and now I refer to it was the Miracle."

"I'm glad you liked it," she said. "You seem older than eighteen now."

"Yeah, I'm twenty-two," I said.

"Very nice." She glanced at her watch and waved. "I have to get on stage now, before the fans boycott the show. See you all soon!"

When she left, I sunk into the nearest chair and took a deep breath.

"Was it as good as you expected?" Percy asked.

"Oh, it was even better," I said.

XxXxX

I got home late that night. When I walked into the apartment, Reyna was passed out on the couch. The dirty dishes were still in the sink, but I ignored them and walked right to my room. I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours even though it was only a minute.

When I finally moved again, I heard my phone beep. I pulled it out of my pocket and opened the text I got from Percy. I smiled to myself as I read his sweet goodnight note before I plugged my phone in to charge and then passed out for the night, only dreaming about my new Miracle.

* * *

 **Author's Note, part two:**

 _I think I should also mention that updates on this will be very unorganized. It could be in a month, could be tomorrow, who knows? Not me, that's who._


End file.
